The high costs of potholes in the spotlight

In the East Midlands, 154,541 potholes were filled in 2017/18, an average of one every three minutes and 24 seconds, according to the latest results of the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey, produced by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA).

IT WILL cost councils in the East Midlands nearly £1bn to get roads into a reasonable condition, despite filling a pothole every three minutes on average.

In the East Midlands, 154,541 potholes were filled in 2017/18, an average of one every three minutes and 24 seconds, according to the latest results of the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey, produced by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA).

The survey asked highways departments to estimate how much it would cost to bring their road networks up to scratch (assuming that they had the resources in place to make it practical to do so as a one-off project).

Based on responses to the survey from local authorities, it was estimated councils in the East Midlands would need £0.98bn. The average highway maintenance budget per authority in the East Midlands was £22.7m.

In 2017/18, councils across the East Midlands said they paid out £548,170 in compensation to road users due to poor road conditions.

Across England and Wales, cash-strapped local authorities report that more than 24,400 miles of road are identified as needing essential maintenance in the next year.

Local authorities in England and Wales report that the gap between the funds they received and the amount they actually needed to keep the carriageway in reasonable order was almost £556 million – a shortfall of £3.3 million for every authority.

And, it would now take 14 years to get local roads back into a reasonable steady state, provided adequate funds and resources were available.

Rick Green, Chairman of the AIA, said: “Although local authorities report an increase in average highway maintenance budgets this year, looking back over the last decade they have barely kept in line with inflation.

”This is reflected in road condition, with one in five of our local roads now classed as structurally poor – with less than five years’ life remaining – compared with one in six reported last year.

“Local roads are a vital asset, worth in the region of £400 billion, and they support all aspects of our daily work and home lives. But funding for their adequate maintenance has fallen short for so many years that further deterioration is inevitable.

“We accept that there is no magic wand to wave, nor is there a bottomless pot of money to tap into. There are difficult choices to be made at both local and national level but the government needs to provide adequate funding for a well maintained and safe local road network if it wants to support communities and drive economic growth.”